Fannie, Freddie, Folly

Bill Clinton points to liberal Congressional Democrats' protection of Fannie and Freddie from scrutiny as a primary cause of the current economic meltdown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsynspIqAoE

To prove Bill Clinton's point, this is a link to a C-SPAN video clip of the Congressional hearings at roughly the time McCains attempt at S.190. to fix fannie and freddie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs

"Video Unearthed Democrats in their own words Covering up the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Scam that caused our Economic Crisis"

The link below describes how some of those Democrats in Congress tried to use the original version of the bailout bill to divert money eventually recovered to groups like ACORN. See: Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122247015469280723.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

And here is Lou Dobbs reporting on ACORN corruption and ties to Obama, including Obama Campaign paying ACORN $800,000 for voter registration activities, and Obama representing them when he was a practicing attorney.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/10/09/ldt.tucker.acorn.under.fire.cnn

Posted By: cutter37 @ 07/12/2008 7:54:01 PM
Comment: If the Gov't. had never gotten into the social engineering business (promoting and pushing for everyone to own a home, many of whom should be apartment dwellers-not the end of the world you know) we might well of not had this "subprime" (read: poor risk) fiasco. Now the imbeciles in Congress conduct hearings to deflect blame from their own incompetence.

I can't believe you so grossly misunderstand the "sub prime" lease fraud.
"Sub Prime" mortgages existed not because of social engineering (some call it the "American Dream" and the maintenace of a healthy middle class that is the basis of our democracy) but due to greed, fraud and lack of adequate regulation. This is a product of a centerpiece of neo-conservatism, i.e., "DEREGULATION".
This mess will now be dumped on the American people, not just in the loss of the "American dream" but by the assumed bailout og Ginnie May and Freddie Mac, adding ane estimated $5 trillion dollars to the national debt, which embarassingly was brought about during the 20 + year tenure of Republican "fiscal conservatives".
Your "knee jerk" "blame the government"response shows that you have been properly brainwashed bt the "neo-cons"
The "imbiciles in Congress were led by largely neo-con extremists.
You are shooting youself in the foot.
The answer is not so east as "blame the government" "That's just scapegoating".

Know why McCain wants to distance himself from former Senator Phil Gramm? It's not because of Gramm's obnoxious remarks calling Americans "a nation of whiners" who are in "a mental recession." Those remarks were so ascerbic that they may've been made just to give McCain an excuse to distance himself from Gramm. This issue is a lot deeper than it looks on the surface.

When Gramm was a Senator he was Chairman of the Banking Committee. He pushed through the legislation known as the "Enron Loophole." This loophole allowed US investment banks to bypass Federal regulations governing futures trading, and is the reason why investment banks were able to falsely inflate the prices of oil, wheat, corn and other commodities through massive futures trading, causing your costs of gas, heating oil and food to go through the roof.

Gramm also created the Gramm-Leach-Biley Act, which got rid of the laws that seperate banking, insurance and brokerage activities in America. The Gramm Act was touted as a new way to protect consumer privacy, but the real meat on the Act's bones was banking deregulation. Essentially, this Act did away with laws written after the Great Depression to protect us from another Wall Street/Banking Industry collapse. That's right, Gramm stripped the system of it's safe guards nine years ago, and guess what? The value of the dollar has nose-dived, four major economic institutions have failed, Wall Street is unstable, and we are in a worsening recession.

Notably, the US investment banks that gained the most from the Enron Loophole and from the Gramm Act contributed more than a million dollars to Gramm's campaign.

Currently Gramm is Vice Chairman of UBS, the Swiss Bank that came up with the idea of "death bonds." Worse, though, UBS is involved in a scam where they sold auction rate securities to American customers. Auction rate securities are supposed to be as safe as cash, but the way UBS did it, the fees garnished by their in-house investment bankers were intentionally higher than the return on the securities, ripping off their American customers. The Massachusetts Attorney General has already filed charges against UBS, and private brokers world-wide have dropped UBS stock. UBS is forecasted to lose 82.91% of it's value in 2008. We are talking about the corporate bank where Gramm is Vice Chairman. Looking at his track record there and at the havoc he has wrought on the US economy through the Senate Banking Committee, it's clear that Gramm is a either criminal or grossly incompetent.

Now McCain wants nothing to do with Gramm, wants us to forget Gramm has been a key player on McCain's team. Gramm was McCain's campaign CO-CHAIR and LEADING ECONOMIC ADVISOR. Previously, McCain had said that he planned to appoint Gramm as SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.

With Gramm as McCain's leading economic advisor, now you know why economists and analysts say that McCain's economic policy plans are untenable.

If the Gov't. had never gotten into the social engineering business (promoting and pushing for everyone to own a home, many of whom should be apartment dwellers-not the end of the world you know) we might well of not had this "subprime" (read: poor risk) fiasco. Now the imbeciles in Congress conduct hearings to deflect blame from their own incompetence.

I don't suppose it has occurred to anyone that the people who are losing their homes to forclosure would like to be offered better mortgage terms so they can keep the houses and keep paying for them! But the banks won't do that. This is where government needs to step in.
Judith Evers, New Smyrna Beach, Florida

So neocons "belly up to the bar", pay your tab and stop your babblings and
excuses. You've had since the COWBOY to straighten things out.....YOU FAILED

Just as a footnote the (unregulated ) "free market" that the neocons worshipped (see: Adam Smith), brought the billions of dollars of fraudulent mortgages and is now self-destructing. By buying out Fannie and Freddie (loaded with "sub-prime" mortgages) and bailing out the failing Investment Banks (also unregulated) they are dumping the losses on the American public....losses generated by greed.

So this is your Utopia ?
BTW I mentioned Adam s Smith who acknowledged that his "free market" could be distorted by other (non-economic) tendencies like gredd and possible social distortions caused by the concentration of wealth. The neocons forgot to tell us about that....and guess what we got !
If you read the neocon literature, like "the contract with America", you can easilly catch the intent to maintain US power in the Middle East....hence 9.11 fit conveniently in their intenttions.. Military invasion. The plans to invade Iraq were drawn up well before 9.11.
All we had to do was falsify a little intelligence, like WMDs a nuclear threat, and a haven for fanatics. Hussein was very much afraid about those very same fanatics.....see-Iran / Iraq war.

jBLACKwell and techres:
You think only in linear terms. Black or white, rich or poor, Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal.
Guess what thanks to your neocons it's not just the liberals who don't have a dime. The increasing concentration of wealth in the top 10% is shifting wealth, and living standards, not just from the poor but also the declining middle class that is the basis of our democracy.
Given your allegiance to the greed of the neocon capitalism you would even sacrifice your country, making it an elitist countryclub.
Remember when Marie Antoinette said "let them eat cake". Typical of your thinking.
The "government inaction' is just the use of an old scapegoat. Reagon and the Republican right wing that followed are to cause of inaction because they DIDN"T WANT REGULATION. They made the government fail. It's part of their philosophy.
To Thomas:
Can you imagine our financial position if the neocons, advocating fiscal responsibility while running constants deficits resulting in a $9 trillion dollar debt, had only practiced what they preached..
Foreigners , especially China , own us.
The Social Security System and Medicaid system "real money" was tapped off to the Federal Budget, and replaced by IOU's (Fed securities).
If the neocons were true conservatives that method of "budgeting"would be out of the question. And both system would have "real assets". It's like you tapping into your savings plan and inserting an IOU to yourself. Then you spenfd the cash.

Conservatives sured preached a good sermon, but their actions betry them.

The funny thing is, if there weren't conservatives, the left wouldn't have a friggin DIME. Who would a nation full of Democrats tax, themselves? I'd vote to disband the USA if we could separate everyone.

Know why McCain wants to distance himself from former Senator Phil Gramm? It 's not because of Gramm's obnoxious remarks calling Americans "a nation of whiners" who are in "a mental recession." Those remarks were so ascerbic that they may have been made just to give McCain an excuse for distancing himself from Gramm. This issue is a lot deeper than it looks on the surface.

When Gramm was a Senator he was Chairman of the Banking Committee. He pushed through the legislation now known as the "Enron Loophole." This loophole allowed US investment banks to bypass Federal regulations governing futures trading, and is the reason why the investment banks were able to falsely inflate the prices of oil, wheat, corn and other commodities through massive futures trading, causing your costs of gas, heating oil and food to go through the roof.

Gramm also created the Gramm-Leach-Biley Act, which got rid of the laws that seperate banking, insurance and brokerage activities in America. Essentially, this Act did away with the laws written after the Great Depression to protect us from another Wall Street/Banking Industry collapse. That's right, Gramm stripped the system of it's safe guards nine years ago, and guess what? The value of the dollar has nose-dived, four major American economic institutions have failed, Wall Street is unstable, and we are in a worsening recession.

Now you could say that this isn't Gramm's fault, how could he know the outcome of his actions? However, it turns out the investment banks that benefited from the Enron loophole and the Gramm Act gave more than a million dollars to Gramm's campaign.

Currently Gramm is Vice Chairman of UBS, the Swiss Bank that came up with the idea of "death bonds." Worse, though, UBS is involved in a scam in which they sold auction rate securities to American customers. Auction rate securities are supposed to be as safe as cash, but the way UBS did it, the fees garnished by their in-house investment bankers were intentionally higher than the return on the securities, ripping off their American customers. The Attorney General of the State of Massachusetts has already filed charges against UBS, and private brokers world-wide have dropped UBS stock. UBS is forecasted to lose 82.91% of it's value in 2008. We are talking about the corporate bank where Gramm is Vice Chairman. Looking at his track record there and on the havoc he has wrought on the US economy through the Senate Banking Committee, it is clear that either Gramm is a criminal, or grossly incompetent.

Now McCain wants nothing to do with Gramm, wants us to forget Gramm has been a key player on McCain's team. Gramm was McCain's campaign CO-CHAIR and LEADING ECONOMIC ADVISER. Previously, McCain had said that he planned to appoint Gramm as SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.

With Gramm as McCain's leading economic adviser, now you know why economists and analysts say that McCain's economic policy plans are untenable.

Know why McCain wants to distance himself from former Senator Phil Gramm? It 's not because of Gramm's obnoxious remarks calling Americans "a nation of whiners" who are in "a mental recession." Those remarks were so ascerbic that they may have been made just to give McCain an excuse for distancing himself from Gramm. This issue is a lot deeper than it looks on the surface.

When Gramm was a Senator he was Chairman of the Banking Committee. He pushed through the legislation now known as the "Enron Loophole." This loophole allowed US investment banks to bypass Federal regulations governing futures trading, and is the reason why the investment banks were able to falsely inflate the prices of oil, wheat, corn and other commodities through massive futures trading, causing your costs of gas, heating oil and food to go through the roof.

Gramm also created the Gramm-Leach-Biley Act, which got rid of the laws that seperate banking, insurance and brokerage activities in America. Essentially, this Act did away with the laws written after the Great Depression to protect us from another Wall Street/Banking Industry collapse. That's right, Gramm stripped the system of it's safe guards nine years ago, and guess what? The value of the dollar has nose-dived, four major American economic institutions have failed, Wall Street is unstable, and we are in a worsening recession.

Now you could say that this isn't Gramm's fault, how could he know the outcome of his actions? However, it turns out the investment banks that benefited from the Enron loophole and the Gramm Act gave more than a million dollars to Gramm's campaign.

Currently Gramm is Vice Chairman of UBS, the Swiss Bank that came up with the idea of "death bonds." Worse, though, UBS is involved in a scam in which they sold auction rate securities to American customers. Auction rate securities are supposed to be as safe as cash, but the way UBS did it, the fees garnished by their in-house investment bankers were intentionally higher than the return on the securities, ripping off their American customers. The Attorney General of the State of Massachusetts has already filed charges against UBS, and private brokers world-wide have dropped UBS stock. UBS is forecasted to lose 82.91% of it's value in 2008. We are talking about the corporate bank where Gramm is Vice Chairman. Looking at his track record there and on the havoc he has wrought on the US economy through the Senate Banking Committee, it is clear that either Gramm is a criminal, or grossly incompetent.

Now McCain wants nothing to do with Gramm, wants us to forget Gramm has been a key player on McCain's team. Gramm was McCain's campaign CO-CHAIR and LEADING ECONOMIC ADVISER. Previously, McCain had said that he planned to appoint Gramm as SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.

With Gramm as McCain's leading economic adviser, now you know why economists and analysts are saying that McCain's economic policy plans are unt

Why is anyone surprised at the Bush neo-cons' continuing to try to privitize govermental agencies ?
The faulty REaganomics is still in place despite the massive increase in our national debt (RR said "deficits didn't matter") Spend away.
As for the privitation schemes it has been pushed in Social Security, Medicare, medicaid, a privitized "national health plan.
Continued "deregulation", which failed to recognize that capitalists were not only driven by "profits" but also by greed, excessive wealth, and the accompanying "excessive" power. Lobbyists and "fund raising committees" are just the prostitutes that infest the nation's and state capitols.
The recent sale of fraudulent mortgage backed securities indicate the absence of adequate regulation. The SEC and the Fed are agents of corporate business.
Re: the perverse buy-out/bail out of private sectop Invesment banks at the cost and risk to the public, an unprecedented move by the FED which only insured commercial bankks under Fed regulations.
So why not sell Fannt and Freddie and let the taxpayer foot the loss.

Why is anyone surprised at the Bush neo-cons' continuing to try to privitize govermental agencies ?
The faulty REaganomics is still in place despite the massive increase in our national debt (RR said "deficits didn't matter") Spend away.
As for the privitation schemes it has been pushed in Social Security, Medicare, medicaid, a privitized "national health plan.
Continued "deregulation", which failed to recognize that capitalists were not only driven by "profits" but also by greed, excessive wealth, and the accompanying "excessive" power. Lobbyists and "fund raising committees" are just the prostitutes that infest the nation's and state capitols.
The recent sale of fraudulent mortgage backed securities indicate the absence of adequate regulation. The SEC and the Fed are agents of corporate business.
Re: the perverse buy-out/bail out of private sectop Invesment banks at the cost and risk to the public, an unprecedented move by the FED which only insured commercial bankks under Fed regulations.
So why not sell Fannt and Freddie and let the taxpayer foot the loss.

And if you choose to commit fraud or break the law.......you should be held accountable and pay your debt to society.......IT'S THE LAW......you play you pay!!!!!!!!!Stop making the innocent people in this country pay for your crimes and misdomeaners..........Congress is so rapped up in this that they refuse to inforce the Constitution.........It is unbelievable!!!!!!!!!

Well, folks....where does it all end? Probably not until out esteemed politicians sell America out completely down to the bare bones. Then they will follow the money they stole and invested in foreign countries so they can rob and pillage those countries as well. I have lived from the 1940's on up and have seen it all. No one can save us from ourselves. The new ritual is "get mine" and to hell with everything and everyone else. It
makes no difference who is elected come November....the landslide has already begun and the young people of today are too busy struggling to "get mine" than try and save the place from which they think they will get it. There needs to be some sort of peaceful revolution and our government needs to be radically changed. We need to take our Country back. But I'll never see it. Doubt anyone else will either.